Harlan, part 1

Harlan Ellison died today.

I'm not sure how I first came to know Harlan Ellison. Perhaps I first encountered his work in The Hugo Winners, Volumes 1 and 2, one of my introductory books from when I first joined the Science Fiction Book Club back in 1981 or so. (He has at least three stories there, "'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman," "The Beast That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World," and "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream.") Maybe it was his famous interview on Merv Griffin, a show I used to watch regularly as a kid.

I loved his writing style. I loved his stories. The first piece I presented for Speech and Debate Team was an excerpt from "When Auld's Acquaintance is Forgot," a story that first appeared in OMNI magazine and heavily influenced my own recently-published story "Cathedral." I own several anthologies of his work, one of which I have misplaced and been looking for for several years.

I will write more later.